Now I know the plan I just detailed (gamble until I make lots and lots of money) must seem as foolproof to our readers as it did to me when I conceived it, but I'm afraid it didn't quite go as smoothly as planned.

A mound of chips, and ready to gamble!

Five minutes later.

You always learn from your mistakes, though, and I now have a few words of advice for potential Las Vegas gamblers:

1. Do not gamble every single dime you have on you. Save some for eating and drinking and getting back home, just in case you maybe don't win.

2. Once you've exchanged all your cash into several thousand dollars worth of casino chips, don't put them all down on the first spin of the first roulette wheel you stumble across. Again, there is a possibility (and I don't have the exact math on this ­ sorry) that you might not win.

Anyway, I learned those lessons the hard way. But I didn't get to be the co-president of a multi-million dollar novelty company by not having contingency plans (actually, I got here because my great-grandfather helped found the company, but anyway...). I decided to go out and find some investors.